The Story
Google and AT&T are in a row over Google Voice, but not because the application is blocked from the iPhone.
According to USTelecom, a lobbyist group for telecom companies in the United States, Google Voice is “effectively assuming the power to decide who its customer can call and what content they can access.” This is thus in violation with FCC telephone regulations, as telephone companies are not allowed to prevent users from making specific calls. AT&T’s Robert Quinn said that this in effect gives Google an advantage over “competing services.”
Google sees things differently. According to a posting on Google’s Public Policy blog, those same FCC regulations which apply to telephone companies do not apply to Google Voice. The author of the posts cites three key reasons:
- Unlike traditional carriers, Google Voice is a free, Web-based software application, and so not subject to common carrier laws.
- Google Voice is not intended to be a replacement for traditional phone service — in fact, you need an existing land or wireless line in order to use it. Importantly, users are still able to make outbound calls on any other phone device.
- Google Voice is currently invitation-only, serving a limited number of users
A Misunderstanding Of What Google Voice Is
Based on AT&T’s complaint, the company just doesn’t comprehend what Google Voice is. It’s not a service provider, though it does provide a service. Google Voice users need a way to make standard phone calls if they are to use the service, which immediately precludes Google from the telecom status. This in turn means that it does not have to abide by principles which specifically apply to telecoms!
No, Net Neutrality Doesn’t Apply
Some commenters on the Google blog were arguing that as Google Voice is a web service, it should have to abide by principles of net neutrality. To act fully in accordance, critics say, Google would have to be neutral about the calls it allows through. Right now, it does not allow users to make certain long-distance calls because the connection fees are too expensive for it to pay.
But the reason why this argument falters is because it’s one that would doom far too many entities. Right now, the Google Voice project simply does not have the money to call any number in the world. Google could add that service, but they would need to start charging users extra to make those calls. One day that’ll probably an offered feature, but as it stands now Google Voice truly is closed to the public – you need an invitation to get in.
By requiring Google Voice to let through all calls, the FCC would be dooming many potential projects from the start. Why should startups have to expend sums of money which they simply cannot afford? If a service is one which falls under a category that the FCC can regulate, then sure, bust its balls. But changing the rules so that Google Voice or anything similar has to abide by the same principles as Verizon and T-Mobile basically means that no one, save a big company like Google or Microsoft, would ever have enough money to start up a similar service.
Now, if you want to debate whether or not this has something to do with Google Voice’s rejection from the iPhone App Store, you’re more than welcome to do so. I frankly don’t care.
